What!

Bishopthorpe dot net gets it wrong! Our story about the sky debris on the railway path turns out not to be accurate. The object in question turns out to have been deliberately placed there! We quote from a leaflet 'York's Solar System Model':

The Cassini spacecraft, launched on 15th October 1997 by NASA, is the first to explore the rings and moons around the planet Saturn. After a seven year journey, Cassini entered Saturn's orbit and has been sending back data images ever since. In January 2005 the Euroean Space Agency's Huygens probe was launced form Cassini into the thick atmosphere of Saturn'a largest moon, Titan.

The one-third scale model...is on the cycle track at the Old Naburn station, close to Saturn on the Solar Systerm model. 

Mmmm.

More at www.solar.ac.uk.

Down among the allotments the spring sun is gently warming the soil, gardeners are preparing their vegetable beds, and the rhubarb is almost ready to eat.  Surprisingly, the allotments have a long, varied - and not always peaceful history.  Read about them here. 

Are you connected to the internet by Virgin Media, BT or Talk Talk? The you had better watch out.

Apparently all three have contracted to extract the details of every web page you look at and sell this to an 'advertising broker'. So you can get 'targeted advertising'. If you don't like this idea, Talk talk will let you opt out. 

The company doing this is called Phorm.

There is a lot more on this, and a chance to take action here.

You really should read all about this. 

Snow White

Performance dates are Tuesday 9th - Saturday 13th December 2008, evenings at 7.30pm and a matinee at 2.30pm on Saturday. Due to the overwhelming success of our cabaret-style evening on the final night performance for the last five years, we intend to repeat this treat again. Please note that this final performance will be ADULTS ONLY.

Tickets will go on sale at the Ebor Inn in Main Street, prices to be advised in due course. Telephone the Ebor on 01904 706190 for details.

[From the Ebor Players Website] 

Walkers and people interested in the history of Bishopthorpe will be disappointed today.

Steel barriers have gone up in Chantry Lane and along the river bank barring access to the old St Andrew's Church. 

The redvelopment of the riverside area is a long-term project lead by the St Andrews Trust that has been overseeing the work.

According to a Trustee, the reason for the closure is an estimated £5000 worth of vandalism. Railing spikes have been hacked off, stonework damaged, and the lighting shot out with an air rifle. Because this has left exposed electrical circuits the area has been cordoned off to prevent further damage and possible injuries.

It is not known at this stage how long the barriers will stay up, nor where the funding is coming from for repairs. A lively debate at the Ward Committe held on Thursday night saw local people concerned at the blocked access, and the danger of creating a hidden zone where further damage may take place.

Anyone with information about the identity of the criminals, thought to be local, who vandalised the area, should ring Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or the Police on 0845 60 60 24 7, or email yorknpt@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk.

Our representative on the City of York Council is John Galvin, who stood in the last local election for the Conservatives. Mr Galvin lives in Bishopthorpe, and has recently retired. This will give him more time for local affiars, and for the cacti and succulents that he grows and tends in his greenhouse.

Now Mr Galvin has accepted an invitation from the Bish dot net team to write his own web log on the site. You can read his thoughts here.